Miles Hiked: 26.1
Total Milage: 1302
This morning I woke up to my alarm at 5am. I swear I blinked my eyes and it was 5:15. I woke 12 pack up and we started to get ready. The sunrise was incredibly red and beautiful. We left camp around 6am. There were thunderstorms predicted for today as well so we were eager to hike as much as we could before getting caught in the rain. The trail continued to be a green tunnel with occasional views. I absolutely loved how easy the trail was. There were not any obstacles at all today! 7 miles in we took a short break to eat some snacks before continuing to the nearest water source at Razor Creek. We didn’t see any other hikers today until after we hiked 10 miles.
After Razor Creek we took a break at the top of a small climb to make some lunch. I cooked ramen noodles with peanut butter. We were making great timing again. It’s really easy to hike 10 miles by 10am if you wake up early and the terrain is gentle. I was feeling pretty tired today but since the climbs were gradual it was easy to keep on chugging along. I took my rain coat on and off several times because it was chilly and would sprinkle occasionally. Around 20 miles we reached a highway crossing at 2pm. We knew we could hitch in to a nearby town where there was a restraunt so we decided to give it a try. After 45 minutes, all 6 cars that drove by did not pick us up. Right when we were about to start hiking again a car pulled up and let two hikers out. They are hiking a little under 200 miles to Durango Colorado to finish the Colorado Trail! The driver of the car offered 12 pack and I some homemade cookies which were delicious. They also made us a ham sandwich and gave us a Gatorade. Both 12 pack and I were so happy! We got some yummy food without having to leave the trail! I saved my sandwich for dinner and 12 pack had some extra mustard packets to add to it.
After the highway we wanted to hike 5 more miles to get in 25 miles total for the day. The terrain remained super easy. What a relief! At mile 25 we started looking for a camp spot. The sky was getting dark and it was sprinkling on us. We ended up walking one more mile before finding a flat spot to camp at. What a relief we escaped yet another day of rain! At camp I ate my sandwich, organized my snacks for the next day, took my vitamins, stretched, brushed my teeth, wrote my blog, and checked Guthooks to see what we will face tomorrow! I’m so happy we got a second day of great hiking in and we did 25 miles in an extremely reasonable amount of time. I really enjoy waking up early and getting to camp early. 5am to 5pm is when I like to be up and hiking!
Happy Trails!
-Early Bird
Des Hikes Thru 